Overview

Blood Bowl: Team Manager is a card game where players act as team managers leading their Blood Bowl teams through a five-round season. Each round represents one week culminating in the Blood Bowl tournament. Managers compete in head-to-head matchups by committing player cards, using skills, and collecting payouts to improve their teams. The manager with the most fans at the end of the season wins.

Components

• 168 Bridge-sized cards:
  • 72 Starting Player cards (12 per team, 6 teams)
  • 25 OWA Star Player cards
  • 25 CWC Star Player cards
  • 32 Highlight cards
  • 14 Spike! Magazine cards
• 58 Small cards:
  • 30 Team Upgrade cards (5 per team)
  • 28 Staff Upgrade cards
• 55 Cardboard tokens:
  • 18 Team tokens (3 per team)
  • 30 Cheating tokens
  • 6 Ball tokens
  • 1 Golden Coin marker
• 4 Scoreboards (each with faceplate, 2 dials, 2 plastic connectors)
• 2 Six-sided Tackle dice
• Rulebook

Teams: Reikland Reavers (Human), Grudgebearers (Dwarf), Athelorn Avengers (Wood Elf), Skavenblight Scramblers (Skaven), Gouged Eye (Orc), Chaos All-Stars (Chaos). Teams belong to either the Old World Association (OWA) or Chaos Wastes Confederation (CWC).

Setup

1. Shuffle Highlight cards and place facedown as the Highlight deck.
2. Choose Teams: Randomly draw team tokens, or agree on team selections. Each manager receives: 1 scoreboard (set to “00”), 12 Starting Player cards, 5 Team Upgrade cards, and 3 team tokens.
3. Each manager shuffles their Starting Player cards and Team Upgrade cards into separate facedown decks.
4. Prepare Star Player Decks: Separate Star Players by OWA/CWC backs, shuffle each separately.
5. Prepare Staff Upgrade Deck: Shuffle all Staff Upgrade cards together.
6. Prepare Spike! Magazine Deck:
   • Set aside “The Blood Bowl” card.
   • Shuffle 3 remaining Tournament cards, draw 2, return 1 to box.
   • Shuffle all Headline cards, draw 2, return rest to box.
   • Shuffle the 4 drawn cards together, place “The Blood Bowl” facedown at the bottom.
7. Place cheating tokens facedown (skull-side up) and mix. Place ball tokens and dice within reach.
8. Youngest manager takes the Golden Coin (goes first).

Turn Structure

The game is played over 5 rounds (weeks). Each round has three phases:

1. Maintenance Phase

Performed in order:

1. Refresh Cards: Rotate all exhausted upgrade cards to upright position.
2. Replenish Hand: Draw from Team deck to 6 cards in hand. (If deck is empty, shuffle discard pile to form new deck.)
3. Restock Cheating Token Pool: Return all cheating tokens facedown and mix.
4. Reveal Spike! Magazine Card: Draw top card; read headlines aloud, note tournament if present.
5. Roll the Highlights: Draw Highlight cards equal to the number of managers, forming the Highlight Reel.
6. Prepare for Kickoff: Place one ball token on each Highlight card and on the Tournament card (if present).

2. Matchup Phase

Beginning with the first manager and proceeding clockwise, each manager on their turn:

1. Commit One Player to a matchup (or Pass — ending their participation for the round).
2. Resolve “When Played” abilities.
3. Use skills (left to right on the card).
4. Optionally resolve one Matchup Action (exhaust a Staff or Team Upgrade card).

Each manager typically has 6 turns. After all managers pass, proceed to Scoreboard phase.

3. Scoreboard Phase

Resolve each matchup starting closest to the Highlight deck:

1. Reveal Cheating Tokens — apply Ejections first, then Fan Frenzy, then Star Power.
2. Resolve Scoreboard Phase abilities.
3. Determine Winner — compare total Star Power. Ball carrier adds +2 Star Power. Ties at highlights: ball carrier wins; if ball at midfield, it’s a draw.
4. Collect Payouts — zone payouts for both sides; central payout for winner only.
5. Clear the Pitch — players go to discard piles; Highlight cards to box.

Then: Reveal Improvement Piles, Pass the Golden Coin left.

Actions

Skills (used when committing a player)

• Cheating (mandatory): For each cheating icon, draw one random cheating token and place facedown on the player card.
• Passing (optional): If ball is at midfield, take it. If opponent has ball, move it to midfield. If teammate has ball, may transfer it.
• Sprinting (optional): For each icon, draw one card from Team deck, then discard one card from hand.
• Tackling (optional): For each icon, attempt one tackle against an opposing player at the same matchup:
  • Tackling player’s Star Power > target: roll 2 dice, choose result
  • Equal Star Power: roll 1 die, apply result
  • Tackling player’s Star Power < target: roll 2 dice, opponent chooses result
  • Results: Target Down, Target Missed, or Tackler Down

Player States

• Standing: Uses standing Star Power (upper-left of card)
• Downed: Rotate 90°; uses downed Star Power; loses abilities and remaining skills; drops ball if carrier
• Injured: Removed from matchup to discard pile; drops ball; discards assigned cheating tokens

Matchup Types

• Highlights: Two team zones (left/right of card); max 2 managers per highlight; each zone has a guaranteed payout
• Tournaments: Unlimited managers; payouts based on ranking (winner, runner-up, loser)

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Game End: After the 5th round (the Blood Bowl tournament week).

Final Scoring: Resolve any “End of Game” abilities from upgrades. The manager with the most fans wins.

Tiebreaker: Most total improvements (Star Players + Team Upgrades + Staff Upgrades). If still tied, those managers are suspended and the next-highest fan count wins. If all tied, nobody wins.

Payout Icons

| Icon | Effect | |——|——–| | Fan | Gain 1 fan per icon | | Star Player | Draw 1 Star Player per icon from your union deck; draft 1, return rest to bottom | | Team Upgrade | Draw 1 per icon; keep 1, return rest | | Staff Upgrade | Draw 1 per icon; keep 1, return rest |

Special Rules & Edge Cases

Cheating Token Distribution (30 total)

• 6 Ejection tokens
• 4 Fan Frenzy (1 fan each)
• 9 Star Power +1 tokens
• 4 Star Power +2 tokens
• 2 Star Power +3 tokens
• 4 Fan Frenzy + Star Power combo tokens
• 1 Fan Frenzy (2 fans) token

Two-Manager Game Changes

• Only Tournament cards in Spike! Magazine deck (no Headlines); game lasts 4 rounds
• Reveal 4 Highlights; after 2 have committed players, return the other 2 to box
• No runner-up payout at tournaments

Named Abilities

• Freebooter: Replace one player from your roster with this Star Player; reshuffle Team deck
• Nerves of Steel: +1 Star Power while ball carrier
• Stand Firm: Cannot be tackled while ball carrier
• Sure Hands: Does not drop ball when downed
• Throw Team-Mate: Move one of your players to a different matchup
• Dodge: Force opponent to reroll all tackle dice
• Guard: Redirect a successful tackle result to this player instead
• Piling On: On Tackler Down result, may attempt another tackle against a different player

Key Clarifications

• Ball contributes +2 Star Power to the team with the ball carrier
• Cheating is mandatory; all other skills are optional
• A manager who passes cannot commit more players or resolve matchup actions for the rest of the phase
• Downed players lose all abilities and remaining skills but keep assigned cheating tokens
• If only one team has players at a matchup, that team collects ALL payouts on the card

Player Reference

Round Structure:

1. Maintenance Phase (refresh, draw, restock, reveal Spike!, roll highlights, kickoff)
2. Matchup Phase (commit players, use skills, matchup actions)
3. Scoreboard Phase (reveal cheating, determine winner, collect payouts, clear)

Star Power Calculation:

• Standing players: standing Star Power value
• Downed players: downed Star Power value
• Cheating tokens: revealed Star Power values
• Ball carrier bonus: +2

Tackle Dice Results: | Result | Effect | |——–|——–| | Target Down | Target becomes downed (or injured if already downed) | | Target Missed | No effect | | Tackler Down | Tackling player becomes downed (or injured if already downed) |